FRIEND ROGER

As I sit here today, reflecting on the past,
My thoughts drift to 1949....
I had just entered High School, so puffed-up and proud,
There was so much to accomplish, would there be time?
 
Those were busy times, never a dull moment,
What with school work, and chores around home.
A new hobby emerged that enthused me so;
I thought I’d reflect a bit, in this poem.
 
The ‘photo-bug’ had bitten me bad!
I was enthused about composition and such.
And through this hobby, I made a dear friend,
Who liked photography equally as much.
 
We learned our interests were on the same plane,
Our values were so much the same...
We had ambitions you wouldn’t believe,
In photography, we would make our name!
 
We pooled our resources, our ambitions and ideals,
We ‘learned the trade’, as we struggled on through.
We shared our conquests, one with another,
And we shared mutual failures, too!
 
As time wore on, we both concurred,
We must ‘give’ on some ideals.
We learned together, to separate our thoughts
Yes, fantasy from what was real.
 
He had his goals, and I had mine,
Those goals were a ‘means to an end’.
We’d agree on some, disagree on others,
That’s a privilege you have, with your friend.
 
‘True Friends’, what does that mean?
Have you ever given it much thought?
Roger was a true friend to me,
Who’d joke about ‘all the junk’ that I’d bought!
 
I’d buy something that I ‘needed’ so bad,
He’d scratch his head and ask, “How come?”
I’d explain my compulsions and motives to him,
“Oh, I see”, he’d say, “then well done!”
 
That didn’t mean that he agreed with me,
It just meant that he understood.
If it satisfied the ‘thirst’ that I had,
His friend was happy, and that was good!

Our friendship grew, and so did we,
Each in our own separate ways...
And when we shared the way we grew, together,
We’d refer to it as the ‘good-old days!’
 
Then, duty called, and we answered the cry,
We joined the service the very same day.
We didn’t do much to advance the cause!
“Help me get home safe Lord”, is how we’d pray!
 
The Lord answered our prayers, we made it home safe,
We could ‘take-up’ where we left-off, again.
We’d argue on politics, religion and such,
And all those topics you discuss with a friend.
 
No matter the outcome, on our separate views,
We’d each defend our position to the end!
He would think left, and I would think right,
That’s each ones’ privilege, with his friend.
 
There were so many topics we couldn’t agree on,
But we had a ball, debating endlessly over them!
Again, at the risk of sounding repetitious,
We could disagree, but still say, “We’re friends!”
 
He’d express his opinion, I’d express mine,
But neither of us would bend.
He defended what he believed, and so did I,
It just made each a closer friend!
 
What then, is a friend?  Can we define it right now?
I doubt that we really can...
But without this quality we call friendship,
I doubt we could be ‘fulfilled man.
 
Man needs this commodity that we call ‘friend’.
Without it, we could hardly survive.
As one person needs, and another heeds,
This keeps humanity alive.
 
Roger, today, is no longer with us,
He fought a hard battle, and won!
We did, I might add, agree on one thing:
Our salvation is through Jesus, God’s Son!
 
Roger was always a step ahead of me,
His efforts more concentrated than mine.
So now, I’m convinced he knows what it’s like
To be alive WITH JESUS, for ALL time!
 

See you someday soon, friend!  jac 1-30-84